Typewriting machine



March l 1927. 1,619,349 A,G.KUPETZ TYPEWRITING MAGHINE Filed Jan.l6, 1924 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 in ver/for:

/torne l, l ,349 Mach l 1927' A. G. KUPETZ 6 9 TYPEWRITING MACHINE Cil Patented Mar. l, 1927.

UNETE STATES htl@ PATENT OFFICE.

ADOLPH Gr. KUPETZ, OF NEW ROCHELLE, NEW YORK, ASSIGNOR TO 'UNDERWOOD TYPE- WRITER COMPANY, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TYPEWRITING MACHINE.

Application filed January 16, 1924. Serial No. 686,475.

This invention relates to means for causing the paper-carriage 0r other letter-feeding carriage of a typewriter to skip automatically between predetermined neighboring points in the carriage-travel.

This method of operation is desired, for example, in typing telephone bills, in which operation it is necessary to type successively in se arate columns the companys charge, the nited States tax, and a code symbol. In writing these bills it is desired to cause the carriage automatically to jump` forward two extra-letterspaces to the tax column at the typing of the last digit. in the companys charge column, and then again automatically to jump forward two extra letterspaces to the code column following the actuation in the tax column of a single tax writing key.

An important object of the invention is to provide means for accomplishing this kind of a result, which can be manufactured cheaply and which can be incorporated in standard typewriting machines at small expense and without substantial alterations of the machine. This is important for two reasons, first it is obviously desirable in the interest of economy of manufacture that the attachments for securing the automatic space-skipping shall be simple and cheap, and shall involve little labor expense; and, second, the special utility of the machines equipped with the invention for writing telephone bills may be terminated by a change in the present tax laws. Should such a change occur it. would be desirable to convert the machines to standard construction without having to discard a multiplicity of expensive parts and without extensively altering the machines.

It is further important object of the invention to provide means for effecting automatic ta'bulating of the kind referred to which will be unfailingly accurate in operation and which will not result in damage to the rack or excessive wear thereof.

All of these results are accomplished in accordance with the present invention by the provision of a single integral device arranged to be fitted on the escapement rack and to be held in place thereon by a single screw. This device includes a vertical web or wall having a screw-hole centrally located therein, and at the opposite ends of its lower extremity a pair of rack-lifting cam projections arranged to act upon the rack-supporting roller that forms part of the usual tabulating mechanism of the Underwood typewriter, automatically to lift the escapement rack out of engagement with the escapement pinion at predetermined points in the travel of the carriage. The cam projections have horizontal upper faces which snugly engage the roller-engaging lower face of the rack to co-operate with the attaching screw to locate the device accurately and it immovably upon the rack.

The first cam of the device to engage the rack-supporting roller in the letter-feeding movement of the carriage lifts the rack out of engagement with the escapement pinion and maintains it out of engagement with the pinion until a jump of two extra letterspaces has been effected, whereupon the rack and pinion are re-engaged. The second cam is at such a distance from the first cam, however, that it becomes effect-ive at the next letter-feeding movement of the carriage to cause a second jump of two extra letterspaces.

The cams and roller are arranged to return the rack to engagement with :the pinion gradually, and the pinion is controlled by the escapement mechanism to yield when first re-engaged by the rack and to move with the rack until such re-engagement is complete and the normal relation between the pinion and rack has been reestablished. This obviates the likelihood of a rack-tooth, in rapid motion, striking the end of a fixed pinion-tooth with which it is intended to mesh and bouncing on to some other position. This is of the utmost importance both because the speedy operation of the machine depends upon the unfailing accuracy of the automatic space-skipping mechanism, and because the violent engagement of the ends of the teeth results in distortion and excessive wear of the teeth.

The cams are also constructed to presentbeveled faces in engagement with the racksupporting roller in the anti-letter-feed movement of the carriage to permit the cams to pass the roller without the interposition of yielding cam-supporting means.

It will be seen that the desired automatic space-skipping of the carriage is thus caused to be effected by the rigid attachment of a single unitary device to the escapement rack of a standard Underwood typewriter, and

fili

that. auch rigid attachment ot' the device if; oll'ected by :i single screw. it in a -further point that the only alteration olf the standard parte o i the machine consista in the drilling` ot a ecrewdlole in the rail: which can be inexpensively made and which would not be objectionable .in casio it; Should become desirable to discard the space-shipping attiuflunent.

It will be apparent, ot' course, that devices could be constructed tor ett'ecting Space-shipa ping arrangements dili'erent itroin the particular one reterred to above without departing 'from the invention7 and that that arrangement should therefore be regarded simply as illustrative ot the invention and not in a limiting sense.

Other teatureel and advantages will hereinaiter appear.

In the accomyjianying drawings,

Figure l is a Sectional eide elevation ot a part ot an Underwood typewriter embodying the present invention;

Figure f2 is a tragmentary troni', elevation oi the parte oil? the machine having to do directly with the rack-lifting attachment;

Figure 3 is a perpective view oil' the attachment Figure J: is a fragmentary trout elevation, showing the rack in the position occupied just prior to .itel disengagement trom the pinion by the tiret` cani projection;

Figure 5 in a view similar to Figure at, but showing the rack disengaged trom the pinion;

Figure G is a view similar to Figure 5, showing the pinion and rack partially reengaged, the rack, however, being still held in an elevated position by the engagement oi' the tiret cam-extension with the raclesupporting roller; and

,Figure T is a view similar to Figure 6, but showing the rack and pinion tully reengagetfl, i'ollowing the jump eli'ected by the tirst camprojection In the typewriting machine, types: l() aro carried by typeebarav il actuated by keys (not shown) to avving upwardly and rearwardly againat the ilront. lace ot a cylindrical platen lll journaled by moana ot its axle 13 in the ends ot a plateiulraine tt- .mounted iu a traveling carriage l5, The Leu-ying@ travels in .letter-telai and return direction along a il'ront rail (not shown) and a rear rail 1th which railel are mounted on the mathine-.trame li'. The carriage l5 is mined in letter-deed direction by 'the usual epring druln lt to which itl connected by a strap 19. Movement ot the carriage lo under the urging ot the Spring-drum 18 is controlled by suitable eseapement mechanism compris:- ing a racli 2t) carried by a snving-l'rame 2l on the carriage l5 to t-ra vel with the carriage` which rack LU meshes with a pinion .22 having a one-way driving connection through nolaefie a pawl 253 willi an eeeapeinent-wheol itt that is controlled in turn by laat` and loose dogs aud t, respectively, operated by a uni- 'vernal bar 2T in the paths olf the typebaroA Ill.

The machine includee4 the ueual talmlating mechanism, which may be like that disclosed in thel patent to H. (,lrutchley, No. 929,080, granted July 2i', 1909. This mechanism in etudes a lever 2S pivoted at QS) that bears a roller itl at its :forward end upon which the raul; it() re: Means is provided 'tor rocking the lever 2S to raise the roller ot) and thereby litt the rack 2O out ot engagement with the escapement pinion 22, when desired. lin adjufiting screw il carried by the lever 2S may be turned to adjust the limit ot downward movement ot the roller 3l) and eo to adinet the normal relation of the roller tit) and the rack 20 to the eecapement pinion 22. 'lhe mechanism thus tar described is ot the standard `Underwood construction.

For the purlioae oit' causing the carriage l5 to jump forward automatically at Selected points in its letter-feeding travel, there is provided, in accordance with the present invention, a cam device 3&2 to be attached to the escapement rack 20. This device comprises a vertical web or wall 33 having a screw-hole it centrally located to receive a ecrew by which it is attached to the rack 20. '.llhe device includes cam projections 3G and 37, which extend rearward Yfrom the vertical wall 33 and have horizontal upper faces -b to snugly engage the roller-engaging lower surface t9 ot the rack Qt). These cam projections iit and 13T co-operate with the attaching screw 35 to tix the cani device 32 accurately and securely in place upon the rack 20. They also serve to engage the roller 5t) at predetermined points in the travel et the rack 2t) to litt the rack automatically out oi engagement with the escape ment pinion E22 and to maintain it thunI disengaged ilroni the pinion until a jump ot the desired extent has been ell'ected. rl`he parte are shown in Figure lf as ready tor the typing o1',l the last digit in the companys charge column ot a telephone bill. 1t will be observed that a tooth :c ot the rack is iu engagement with a taoth e/ ot tho escapement pinion at this stage. As a result ot the next type-#trotte the eecapemeut wheel lV moves toi-ward one tootlospaee, as usual7 but the concurrent advance ol the rack 2l) thus permitted cani-es an inclined l'acc lll ot the cam projection in to ride up on the roller ill). are; seen in Figure 5. to dif-engage the rack :Ztl trom the pinion rllhe carriage 15, be-

ingl now unrestrained by the eecapenient meehaniem, continues. to move forward until, as shown in Figure ti. the cam 3G has reached a point on the roller E() which is low enough to permit the rack 2O to again engage the lil() pinion 22. At this point, the tooth y of the pinion is engaged by a rack-tooth a, which 1s the second tooth from the rack-tooth m that engaged the pinion-tooth y prior ,to the jump. From the position of Figure 6 to that of Figure 7 the pinion 22 yields before the rack 20, while the rack is gradually lowered, due to the contours of the cam 36 and the roller 30, so that finally in the position of Figure 7 the rack is arrested by the pinion with the rack and pinon-teeth again in their normal fully-engaged relationship.

The arrangement of the escapement-controlling mechanism to permit this yielding of the pinion durin(r the re-engagement of the rack 2O and pinion 22 requires some explanation. When the rack 2O is in the position shown in Figure 4 and a type is swung upward for printing the last digit in the companys charge column, the loose dog 26 is rocked out of engagement with the escapement-wheel tooth 41 and is drawn toward the left, as viewed in Figure- 5, by a spring 43, while the fixed dog 25 is rocked int-o engagement with the tooth 4l to prevent rotation of the escapement wheel 24. On the return stroke of the type, the ixed dog 25 is rocked out of engagement with the tooth 4l and the loose dog 26 is rocked into the path of the next escapement-wheel tooth 42. The escapement wheel 24 is now free to advance a tooth-space, and, as the rack 2O is in mesh wit-h the pinion 22 and is urged in letter-feed direction by the spring-drum 18, the carriage l5 advances, causing the rack to rotate the escapement wheel 24, and the escapement-wheel at the same time moves the loose dog 26 toward its initial position against the tension of the spring 43. In the course of this advance of the carriage l5, the rack 2O is lifted out ot' engagement with the pinion 22, as has been previously ex plained. As soon as the pinion 22 and the escapement wheel 24 are t-hus left free of the rack 20, the spring 43, acting through the loose dog 26, backs up the escapement wheel and pinion to the position shown in Figure 5, the wheel 24 being limited in that position by engagement of a back-stop pawl 44 with an escapement-wheel tooth 45. The cam 36 and the roller 30 are so constructed and arranged that the rack 20 is caused to drop gradually into position to cause the racktoot-h a to engage the pinion-tooth y, in the position ot' the latter' tooth shown in Figures 5 and 6, and to continue to drop gradually as the rack and pinion-teeth advance together from the position of Figure 6 to that of Figure 7. By the described arrangement ot' the escapement mechanism and the racklr'ting mechanism, the rack-lowering period is prolonged, so that ample time is allowed for the rack 20 to descend completely into mesh with the pinion 22 before it is arrested by the pinion. This arrangement is of very great importance, since it assures the proper re-engagement of the pinion and rack after a jump of the exact extent desired. It is also important for the reason that there no tendency for the rack or pinion-teeth to be worn away or to get knocked out of shape at their outer ends.

The second cam 37 is constructed like the rst, to cause a jump of the same extentin the same manner. The second cam 37 is spaced from the iirst at such a distance that the rack 2O is caused to engage the pinion 22 for one letter-space only, between the two automatic jumps. When the parts are in the position shown in Figure 7, therefore, the carriage l5 is ready to be automatically released at the next type-stroke by the co-operation of the roller 30 with the inclined face. 46 of the second cam 37, to cause the second automatic jump.

Each of the cams 36 and 37 has a beveled lower right-hand face 47 to engage t-he roller 30 in the return movement or the carriage to facilitate the movementof the device 32 and the roller pasteach other without the necessity for yieldingly supporting the device or the individual cams.

It will be noted that the roller 30 is keyactuated at one operation, to raise the feedrack outl of engagement with the holding pinion for an extended free movement of the carriage to a. column-stop position, and at another operation the roller in its normal position serves as a stationary camming element to automatically disengage the rack and pinion for a very short interval and immediately re-establish enga-gement thereof. The roller in one instance becomes a movable rack-lifting element and at another interval becomes a stationary rack-lifting element.

Variations may be resorted to within the scope of the invention, and portions oic the improvements may be used without others.

Having thus described my invention, l claim:

l. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage, escapement mechanism controlling the letter-feeding of the carriage, comprising an escapement rack on the carriage and a pinion co-operating therewith, and a rack-supporting and lifting roller for disengaging the rack from the pinion toi cause a jump of the carriage; of a device attached to the escapement rack to release the carriage automatically from the control ot the escapement mechanism at a plurality ot predetermined points in the travel of the carriage by moving the rack away from t-he escapement pinion, consistingof a vertical web having a screw-hole centrally located for receiving a screw to attach it to the rack, and a plurality of projections extending rearward from the vertical web, said projections having horizontal upper surfaces lo snugly engage` the rollerengaging, lower iace of the rack and co-opcrate with the attaching screw to .tix the device securely and accurately in place on the rack, each ot the projections having a lower lett-hand beveled il'ace to engage the raclblilting roller and thereby cam the raclr away from the escapement pinion in the letter-feed movement ot' the carriage, and a lower right-hand beveled face to engage the acli-.litting roller to facilitate movement of the j irojection past the roller in anti-letter-toed direction, each ot the projections be ing constructed to cooperate with the roller to cause av carriage-jump of two extra letterA spaces and the projections being spaced from each other to permit the rack to re-cngage the pinion :lor a single type-stroke between the automatic jumps.

2. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a ltraveling carriage, escapement mechanism controlling the letter-'feeding ot the carriage, comprising an escapement 1fach on the carriage and ak pinion co-operating therewith, and a rack-supporting and lifting roller; ot a device attached to the esca pement rack Ato release the carriage automatically ilrom the control of the escapenient mechanisn'i at a` plurality of predetermined pointsin the travel ol' the carriage by moving the rack away irom the escapement pinion, consist-ing ot' a vertical web having a screw-hole centrally located for receiving a screw to attach it to the rack, and a plurality ot projections extending rearward -trom the vertical web, said projections having horizontal npper surfaces to snugly engage the roller-enga ging, lower tace ot the rack and (1o-operate with the attaching screw to tix the device securely and accurately in place on the rack, each ol" the projections having a lower letthand beveled vlace to engage the rack-lifting roller and thereby cam the rack away trom the escapement pinion in the letter-feed movement ol t-he carriage, and a. lower ri ght-hand beveled tace to engage the rack-lifting roller to facilitate movement et the projection past the roller in anti-letter-feed direction.

3. In a typewriting machine, the combination with a traveling carriage, escapement mechanism controlling the letter-feeding of the carriage, comprising an escapement rack on the carriage and a pinion co-operating therewith, and a rack-supporting and lifting roller; oil' ay device attached to the escapement rack to release the carriage automa tieally from the control ol' the escapement mechanism at a plurality oit' predetermined points in the travel of the carriage by moving the rack away from the escapement pinion, comprising a vert-ical web having a screw-hole centrally located tor receiving a screw to attach it to the rack, and a plurality ot' projections extending rearward from the vertical web, said projections having horizont-al Lemme upper surfaces to snugly engage the rollerengaging, lower face of the rack and co operate with the attaching screw to liX the device securely and accurately in place on the rack, each of the projections having a lower lett-hand beveled face to engage the rack-lifting roller and thereby cam the rack away from the escapement pinion in the letter-feed movement of the carriage.

d. ln a typewriting machine, the com bination of a power-driven carriage, a carriage-feeding mechanism including a carriage-rack and a racleholding pinion, an ordinary carriage-releasing mechanism including a roller operable to raise the feedrael; out ol' engagement with the pinion to tree the carriage, and other carriagereleasing mechanism including' a pair of related or connected cams secured to the rack and operable to successively engage with the roller to eilect two automatic column-skipping movements o the carriage, with a single letter spacing or typing interval between the skipping movements.

5. For use in combination with a typewriting machine having a` traveling carriage, escapement mechanism controlling the let ter-feeding of the carriage, comprising an escapement rack on the carriage and a pinion cooperating therewith, and a rack-supporting and lifting roller; a device to cause the carriage to jump forward automatically at a plurality ol? predetermined points in its travel, said device arranged to be attached to the escapement rack and comprising a vertical web having a screw-hole centrally located for receiving a screw to attach it to the rack, and a plurality of cams extending rearward from the vertical web, said cams having horizontal upper surfaces to snugly engage the rollerengaging, lower face of the rack and co-operating with the attaching screw to tix the device securely and accurately in place on the rack, and each of the cams constructed to engage the raclesupporting roller and thereby cam the rack away from the escapement pinion in the letter-feed movement ot' the carriage and to maintain it out of engagement with the roller throughout a carriage-j ump of predetermined extent.

G. In a typewritting machine, the combination of a power-driven carriage and a platen, typing elements, carriage-feed elements including a rack and a pinion, carringe-releasing means including a roller to separate the rack from the pinion to release the carriage, and a pair ot related cannning elements secured to and movable with the nek, and each engageable with the carriagereleasing means whereby the carriage will be automatically released to skip a zone of two letter-space distances by the passage of the tiret cam, receive a single type-impression, and then bring the second cam into operation to automatically skip a second zone of two letter-space distances.

7 In a typewriting machine, the combination of a power-driven carriage, escapement mechanism including a step-loy-step escapement-Wheel and a pinion, a feed-rack pivoted to the carriage and spring-pressed into operative engagement With the pinion, carriagereleasing mechanism including a roller arranged to raise the rack out of engagement 10 with the pinion to release the carriage, and

a cam-element secured to the rack and arranged to ride over the roller to automatically release and then arrest the carriage for a skipping movement during the normal 15 operation of typing.

ADOLPH G. KUPETZ. 

